Sandbox effect

According to the theory of the sandbox effect, links which may normally be weighted by Google's ranking algorithm, not least improving the position of a webpage in Google's index, may be subjected to filtering to prevent their having a full impact. Some observations have suggested that two important factors for causing this filter to come into play are the active age of a domain, and the competitiveness of the keywords used in links.

Active age of a domain should not be confused with the date of registration on a domain's WHOIS record, but instead refers to the time when Google first indexed pages on the domain. Keyword competitiveness refers to the search frequency of a word on Google search, with observation suggesting that the higher the search frequency of a word, the increasing likelihood that the sandbox filter effect will come into play. While the presence of the Google Sandbox has been long debated, Google has made no direct disclosure on the matter. However, as the sandbox effect almost certainly refers to a set of filters in play for anti-spam purposes, it is unlikely Google would ever provide details on the matter. In one instance though, Google's John Mueller has mentioned that "it can take a bit of time for search engines to catch up with your content, and to learn to treat it appropriately. It's one thing to have a fantastic website, but search engines generally need a bit more to be able to confirm that, and to rank your site - your content - appropriately". This could be understood as the cause for the sandbox effect.

Google has long been aware that its historical use of links as a "vote" for ranking web documents can be subject to manipulation, and stated such in its original IPO documentation. Over the years Google has filed a number of patents that seek to qualify or minimise the impact of such manipulation, which Google terms as "link spam".

How to recover from sandbox effect

If you think your website has suffered from the sandbox effect and it has experienced a drop in organic traffic there are 2 things you can do to recover from this filter.

1. Start by auditing your content - there are usually two things to look for on your website - duplicate content or pages with thin content. If you have copied other pages it's a good idea to use canonical link element. But if you have used the same words over and over again on the same page consider looking for synonyms and creating longer and detailed pages.
2. Audit website's backlinks - if your page has been recently indexed by Google and you have bought backlinks or your website might have suffered from a negative SEO you should use tools for backlink tracking to help you audit your website's link profile. If you happen to discover harmful backlinks you can use Google's Disavow tool to get rid of links you don't want pointing to your site. The decision which links to remove should be based on backlink authority and quality, more information you can find here.